20 urban local bodies now under Town and Country Planning Act

TNN | Oct 18, 2018, 12.17 PM IST

SHIMLA: With unauthorised and haphazard construction in tourists towns like Shimla and Kasauli forcing the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to impose restrictions on construction activity, the Himachal Pradesh government on Saturday, through a notification, has brought 20 urban local bodies under the ambit of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act. With this, towns and revenue villages falling under the jurisdiction of these urban local bodies will have to follow TCP rules while undertaking any construction activity. The move is aimed at ensuring safer buildings and to stop haphazard construction activity.

With the issuance of notification, the state government has frozen existing land use map of the above said planning areas for a period of five years. Now the construction activity would be carried only after seeking required permission from the TCP department as per the approved plan.

Officials said the move would help in planned development as haphazard construction will would not be allowed.

The fact that 32% of the total geographical area of Himachal Pradesh falls in very high damage risk zone and accommodates about 60% of the total population is an eloquent reflection of seismic vulnerability of the state. Despite this, construction of buildings and houses falling under rural areas (89% of total houses) is not regulated by any Act or regulation. Construction of seismic resistant buildings in rural areas has, thus, not been ensured.

Risk from impending threat of earthquake can be gauged from the 1992 simulation of possible effects of a major earthquake in Kangra region of Himachal Pradesh. The simulation based on the scenario of 1905 earthquake projects complete collapse of 1,45,000 houses and partial collapse of 2,68,000 houses in the affected area of 7,900 sq km and loss of life from 88,999 to 3,44,000 depending on the time of the day and season when it occurs, said a report prepared by the state disaster management authority.

The hills and mountains of Himachal Pradesh are liable to suffer landslides during monsoons and also in high intensity earthquakes. The vulnerability of geologically young and unstable steep slopes in various Himalayan ranges has been swiftly increasing in recent decades due to inappropriate activity such as deforestation, road cutting, terracing and changes in agriculture pattern requiring more intense watering.

A report of state disaster management authority says that landslides can be caused by poor ground conditions, geomorphic phenomena, and natural physical forces and quite often due to heavy spells of rainfall coupled with impeded drainage.

The hills and mountains of Himachal Pradesh are liable to suffer landslides during monsoons and also in high intensity earthquakes, it adds.

Ensure structural stability of buildings: NGT

In a recent order, the NGT had directed the state government to ensure strict enforcement of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) codes for earthquake safety for structural stability of buildings. It had also suggested the Union ministry of environment, forests, and climate change (MoEF&CC ) to frame a set of guidelines with respect to carrying capacity assessment as applicable to similarly placed Hill Stations and Eco Sensitive Zones (ESZ) notified by MoEF&CC in the country to check hazards of unregulated development threatening the fragile ecology and safety within one month.

The tribunal had said that the MoEF&CC shall submit the copy of guidelines by November 30 alongwith the list of such hill stations and eco-sensitive zones (ESZs) for which carrying capacity assessment was necessary. Thereafter, such similarly placed hill stations and ESZ in the country shall undertake carrying capacity assessment study as per the template and guidelines as finalized by the MoEF&CC within three months.